Gresham Outlook Features Return Serve

The Gresham Outlook has a story on Return Serve! Read the awkward scanned copy or read it online.

Thanks!

Tidying for the Creative Genius

Saturday, August 15 we worked at New Avenues for Youth (NAFY). NAFY has a beautiful facility in Downtown Portland where homeless and at-risk young people can come, be safe, have some food, play some games and do some laundry. They can also make art! NAFY has a lot of supplies (Some of which were gathered by Return Serve members and friends in May and April of this year!) but staff has no time to put them where they go. The art room has nice cabinets and counter space and just needed a bit of T.L.C. The story was similar in the clothing closet. Shannon, Nadine and Emily took the art room and Bryan and Michael (Visiting Portland from California!) tidied the closet. In a few hours, both rooms were looking good and we were getting excited about the next art projects that might take place in the space. Knitting? Screen printing? Water color? Photography? The supplies are all there! The kids using the drop-in center even gave us a very sweet round of applause as we left.

Let the Worms Breathe!

Saturday, August 8 was a big day for us. We worked with Depave! The task: rip up 15,000 square feet of asphalt with the brute strength of nearly 100 volunteers and a few tools. Sounds crazy I know, but it was a ton of fun. The feelings of power you have while overturning concrete that has lay behind an elementary school for 80 years are pretty significant. Portland Mayor Sam Adams joined in the fun and Shannon and I were mentioned in the Oregonian story that came out the next day!

It turns out that the Depave folks were bringing in the backhoes later to finish what we started, but we estimated that with just our hands and determination, the volunteers took care of 5,000 square feet of the total. Think of all those people who have a new appreciation for "Freeing the Soil". The kids and teachers and parents at Vestal Elementary School will work to put in a new learning lab and the remainder of the space will become a Portland Community Garden. Storm-water will drain keeping the pollution out of the streams and rivers and the neighborhood will gain a significant new community space.

We had some friends staying with us from California so that's our second time with some long distance help with one of our projects. Cheers to Katie and Kenny for rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty with some concrete bashing Portlanders!

It's Raining Softballs

Saturday, July 13 we headed to Gresham High School for the Hershey Track and Field Games. Hershey has funded these games all over the country for over 30 years as a way to promote fitness in kids ages 9-14. Gresham Parks and Recreation organized the event for Gresham kids and Return Serve volunteers were there to help with registration, record event results, chase after runaway softballs and to cheer on the participants. The day was cloudy and cold and there were not many kids who came to play, but the fun news is that most of those who did were able to place for the regional games in Salem! It's good for everyone to get out and run around a bit, and it's great for the City of Gresham to keep looking for ways to have more programming for not a lot more money. The Games definitely accomplished both.

The native species breathe sighs of relief

On July 6th, this fine looking group met at the Keller Woodlands to work with the Three Rivers Land Conservancy and the West Willamette Restoration Partnership to tear out unwanted ivy - one of the main invasive species threatening our urban forests. We worked along the Marquam Nature Trail ripping out heaps and heaps of ivy vines. Some of the vines really put up a fight and we were working on the side of a hill meaning our legs and backs had quite a workout. There was also pretty constant risk of falling back down the hill when the vines finally gave way. Still I think we made great progress and covered a lot of ground.

The problem of invasive species really can be daunting but the work party organizers did a good job of giving us some facts to keep our spirits up. Given a chance, the native species really are quite resilient so work like we did on Saturday can really do a lot to give the good plants a window to grown and reclaim their territory. The Three Rivers staff admitted that we'll probably never rid our forests of ivy completely but that they have made several passes over large sections of land in the Portland Metro Area and have seen marked improvement. Check out their latest progress on the West Willamette Restoration Project here.

** On a personal note, I (Emily) have to mention a most wonderful thing that happened at this work party. Amanda, the amazing woman with Three Rivers organizing our group turned out to be my summertime best friend from day camp when we were seven years old in Kansas City, Missouri! We haven't spoken in 21 years and had completely lost touch and this was such a great surprise. More proof of the benefits of volunteering! **

Some Thanks from New Avenues

Following the art supply drive completed in May by Return Serve members and friends, our efforts were sweetly recognized by the folks at New Avenues for Youth. Our contribution of all things crafty seems to have been truly appreciated. Our supply drive was featured in the NAFY newsletter and we had a thank you note from Angela Pratt, Development Coordinator at NAFY.

You may have also seen our blog's first public comment from NAFY Board Member Scott Johnson.
Scott writes: 'Your group is doing some really great community service. Thank you for the wonderful contribution of art supplies to New Avenues! - Scott Johnson, NAFY Board Member'

Thank you to all who contributed to our art supply drive, and look for more opportunities to volunteer with NAFY in the future.

What's a Little Lead Dust When it's for the Good of the Earth?

The group headed to the Rebuilding Center on N. Mississippi on June 3rd. This was one of our harder volunteering efforts. Two of us who showed up were sick and went home before the work really got started, and the three who stayed had to deal with an amazing amount of dust and dirt and grime. Face masks next time! The mission of the Rebuilding Center is amazing, no question, and it takes this kind of dirty volunteering to get the job done. Salvaged materials are brought here and sorted and resold to
1. make sure those reusable materials are diverted from landfills and to
2. allow shoppers to avoid buying newly manufactured products!
It really is a win-win and along the way there is a lot of community happening in the process. Our team transferred materials off shelves in order to set up a new set of bigger shelves in the "Miscellaneous" department. Great job to all, and to the rest of us, please go shop at the Rebuilding Center!